By State Rep. Bill Mitchell
As the 96th General Assembly begins, it seems some things never change. The Democrats in control want to take more of your hard-earned money. Their latest insult to taxpayers is a plan to raise the state gas tax. At a time when the economy is down and people are struggling to pay their bills, the powers that be in Springfield think you should pay more for gas.
My response is simple – Just say no to more taxes! I am urging concerned citizens to sign a petition opposing the Democrats’ plan to raise the gas tax so we can send a strong message to Springfield that working families oppose this tax hike.
House Bill 1 would raise the state motor fuel tax by 8 cents per gallon, costing Illinois motorists $500 million annually. The gas tax increase was proposed by a downstate Democratic legislator who is closely aligned with House Speaker Michael Madigan. The legislation was designated as HB 1 by Speaker Madigan, indicating his possible support for the measure.
I believe this tax hike is the wrong thing to do in a weak economy. How can anyone be talking about raising taxes on working families when our economy is in such bad shape and we’re struggling with double-digit unemployment? I hope our legislative leaders realize people can’t afford a $500 million tax increase on such a basic necessity as gasoline.
Illinois currently has a motor fuel tax of 19 cents per gallon. The state collected approximately $1.4 billion in motor fuel tax receipts in Fiscal Year 2006. In addition to the gas tax, Illinois has a 5 percent state sales tax on gasoline, making it one of only nine states that impose a sales tax on gas. Last year, when the price of gas peaked at over $4 per gallon, I called for a reduction in the state sales tax on gasoline.
The State of Illinois shouldn’t be in the business of gas gouging. A tax increase on gas is a terrible idea. Just because the price of gas has finally fallen below $2 per gallon doesn’t mean it won’t go back up to $4 or more in the summer.
I am distributing petitions against the proposed gas tax increase at local gas stations and have copies available at my district office in Forsyth. The petition is also available on my Web site at www.mitchell-b.ilhousegop.org. I encourage everyone to sign the online petition or call my office at (217) 876-1968 and we will send you a copy to sign. Next month, I will take the completed petitions to Springfield and let our legislative leaders see firsthand how strongly people oppose this tax increase.
State Representative Bill Mitchell (R-Forsyth) represents the 87th Legislative District in central Illinois.
